Persistence of culture: how the entrepreneurial culture of origin contributes to migrant entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial activities differ substantially across populations. However, whether and how the entrepreneurial culture can contribute to these variations are not yet well understood. Using internal migrants instead of international migrants widely used in previous research, this study proves the original entrepreneurial culture’s persistent effects on migrant entrepreneurship. With a unique database, the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), we reveal that every additional start-up per 1000 people in the city of origin in 2004 is associated with a 3.2% increase in the probability that the internal migrant will start a business in host cities during 2014 and 2016. Our results are consistent with several robustness tests, confirming the existence and persistence of the original entrepreneurial culture. Further analysis reveals that entrepreneurial culture of origin leads to migrant entrepreneurship through enhancing social networks, promoting role models, and cultivating traits that favor entrepreneurship. Through these channels, the intangible entrepreneurial culture of origin can be transformed into tangible business opportunities and migrants’ willingness and capability to do business, which stimulates their entrepreneurial activities in host cities.